New Australian Unity & Deakin University report reveals Australia's wellbeing divides
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – Today, Australian Unity and Deakin University have released the findings of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, marking the 25th year of Australia's longest-running study of subjective wellbeing.
This year's survey captured responses from nearly 10,000 adults across Australia — its largest annual sample to date — offering the most detailed view yet of how Australians feel about their personal lives and life in the nation. The report maps wellbeing across all electorates, revealing new insights into how location, income, age, and social factors shape Australians' quality of life.
The Index measures Australians' satisfaction across two dimensions — personal wellbeing, which includes satisfaction with areas of life such as relationships, health, and standard of living, and national wellbeing, covering areas such as the economy, government, and social conditions.
Conducted in June 2025, the research took place against the backdrop of easing inflation, two interest rate cuts, and the aftermath of the federal election — a period marked by cost-of-living pressures, ongoing global political and economic unrest, and extreme weather events both nationally and internationally.
Key findings show:
- A boost in national wellbeing, while personal wellbeing held steady. The Personal Wellbeing Index remained stable compared to 2024, while the National Wellbeing Index rose notably, with satisfaction improving across five of six areas of national life — including government, business, and the economy.
- Economic and generational divides continued. Electorates and individuals with lower household incomes recorded some of the lowest personal and national wellbeing levels. Younger Australians also reported significantly lower personal wellbeing.
- Urban–regional national wellbeing divide observed. The highest-scoring electorates on national wellbeing were in capital cities, while, on average, regional areas recorded lower satisfaction across every national life domain.
- Satisfaction with health and relationships varies by region. Inner metropolitan electorates showed the highest satisfaction with health but the lowest with personal relationships, while rural communities showed the opposite — reporting stronger relationship satisfaction but lower scores for health.
Dr Kate Lycett, Senior Research Fellow from the School of Psychology at Deakin University and lead researcher of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, said:
"These data provide valuable insights beyond traditional economic and objective data; they show us how people are feeling. The findings should drive awareness and investments to support wellbeing, such as place-based services, infrastructure and opportunities for community actions."
"Wellbeing inequities are not inevitable and reducing these gaps is in everyone's interest." She said, "If we want a more equitable and sustainable society, then we need to prioritise people over profits and embed wellbeing across policy, business and community decisions," she continued.
Mr Rohan Mead, Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at Australian Unity said:
"Amid the profound demographic shift underway, Australia faces one of the most significant structural challenges of our time. Without deliberate and coordinated action, the ageing of our population risks placing unsustainable pressure on our health system, limiting choices for older Australians and compounding financial strain.
These findings begin to reveal the early contours of that challenge—where younger Australians report diminished wellbeing and regional communities experience poorer health outcomes. We must now turn our attention to building a future-ready system—one that is equitable, resilient and capable of enhancing the wellbeing of Australians, across generations and geographies."
Now in its 25th year, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is one of the world's longest running national studies of subjective wellbeing across the adult lifespan. Since the first survey was released in 2001, data from nearly 90,000 Australians has been widely used by researchers, governments and organisations to gain insights into how satisfied citizens are with their lives and the nation.
In conjunction with the release of the 2025 report, Australian Unity has established a new Data Dashboard, allowing Australians to view and interact with current and historical data from the Wellbeing Index. This can be accessed via auwi.deakin.edu.au
- The full 2025 Australian Unity Wellbeing Index Report can be viewed at www.australianunity.com.au/auwi
Further reference material can be found on the following page.
ABOUT AUSTRALIAN UNITY
Established in 1840, Australian Unity is Australia's first wellbeing company, delivering health, wealth and care services for its members and the community. As a social enterprise, Australian Unity is motivated by its purpose to positively impact the wellbeing of millions. It reinvests profits to deliver products and services sustainably that matter most to members, customers and the Australian community.
ABOUT DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
Established in 1974, Deakin is one of Australia's most progressive universities, leading in the innovative use of digital technologies and online learning, and blending this capability across its distinctive campus precincts in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. The Australian Centre on Quality of Life was established within the School of Psychology to study evidence-based measures for quality of life. The Centre formed a partnership with Australian Unity in 2000 to develop the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index.
ABOUT THE WELLBEING INDEX
The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index offers a holistic understanding of how satisfied people feel with their personal lives and life in the broader national context, and is one of the longest-running national surveys of subjective wellbeing in the world.
Since 2001, Australian Unity and Deakin University have been monitoring the subjective wellbeing of Australians aged over 18 via the Wellbeing Index. To date, this monitoring has been achieved through 42 cross-sectional national surveys that have collected data on nearly 90,000 Australians. In addition to charting the natural history of personal and national wellbeing, each year researchers examine how wellbeing varies across diverse population groups and special interest areas.
About us:
GLOSSARY
Personal Subjective Wellbeing
Personal Subjective Wellbeing is measured using two methods, both of which measure satisfaction on a 0 to 10 choice scale. The first is a single item: 'How satisfied are you with your life as a whole?'. The second is the Personal Wellbeing Index, which averages the level of satisfaction across seven life domains – standard of living, health, achieving in life, relationships, safety, community connectedness, and future security.
National Subjective Wellbeing
National Subjective Wellbeing is measured using two methods, both of which measure satisfaction on a 0 to 10 choice scale. The first is a single item: 'How satisfied are you with life in Australia? The second is the National Wellbeing Index, which averages the level of satisfaction across six national domains - economic situation, state of natural environment, state of social conditions, government, business, and national security.
Survey Methodology
For the first time, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index was conducted entirely online, surveying more than 10,000 adults across Australia in June 2025. Most participants (7,907) were drawn from Life in AustraliaTM, the nation's largest and most rigorous probability-based online panel, with an additional 2,138 participants from LiveTribe, a non-probability panel. All data are weighted to ensure the survey findings are as nationally representative as possible. Using a widely used statistical approach called Small Area Estimation, the data provide reliable wellbeing estimates for each federal electorate. Two electorates – Lingiari (NT) and Durack (WA) – were excluded, as the Index's wellbeing measures are derived from a Western perspective that is not suitable to represent the large and diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in these electorates.
